The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) will hold the Mock Olympics from August 8-21 headlined by world champions Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu. National team members and former national team members, a total of 50 men and 42 women, will compete in 5 events over the 14-day competition, comprising teams and singles each for men and women, plus a mixed doubles which will be televised live on CCTV5 AND CCTV5+.
With all the Olympic qualification meets building up to 2020, never have we thought of experiencing a sporting drought caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. While most international table tennis competitions are yet to be relaunched, some local and regional competitions have returned from the COVID hiatus, such as the German League (in June), the All-Hong Kong Table Tennis Tournament (live on Youtube in June), Chinese Taipei Mock Olympics (on August 4a, 4b, 5) and the CNT Mock Olympics which takes place in Lingshui, Hainan from August 8-21.
The Chinese have had a lot of training coming into the Mock Olympics as their training was not severely disrupted under the lockdown. Most of the team members have been training in Macau, where the coronavirus is pretty well contained since mid-March, soon after ITTF announced a suspension of all table tennis events. After four months of closed-door training, they took a short break and regather in Hainan for the next phase of closed-door training and the Mock Olympics.
As its name implies, the Mock Olympics replicates the schedule and the intensity of the Olympics. Its objective is to introduce competitive tension into the team and help athletes to prepare for the postponed Tokyo Olympics which is just less than a year away. We don't have the details of the competition format yet but it should be more or less similar to the Olympics, or else there will be no reason to call it a mock Olympics.
However, there are a few features here that the Olympics normally doesn't acquire. Firstly, COVID-19 precautionary measures applied, no spectators on spot. We might have to wait for a few more months, if not a year, to hear those deafening cheers from the crowd. Secondly, more self-complacent practices adopted, handshakes will be replaced by a racket tap (which is pretty impressive) but whisper into someone's ear is not banned in mixed doubles competitions and athletes still loves to wipe their sweat on the table. Thirdly, it is an all-Chinese competition. Such feature, perhaps, will spice up the competition even more!
The men's roster includes all the big names you can tell. Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Lin Gaoyuan and many other national team members will compete in all three events, singles, team and mixed doubles. Whereas Ma Long will take part in team and singles only. The CTTA has also invited former national team members including Hou Yingchao, the 2019 men's singles national champion, Zhang Chao, Cui Qinglei and promising local up-and-comer Lin Shidong to take part in the meet.
Moving to the women's side, Ding Ning sits out the competition to rest her body after 4 months of closed-door training. Liu Shiwen is recovering from an elbow surgery and Zhu Yuling made a last-minute withdrawal due to an acute immune system issue. The absence of the top favourites could be a disappointment to many who are anticipating this tournament but the return of Wu Yang, Hu Limei and Mu Zi may add a little bit of star power to the tournament. Moreover, from a positive perspective, it opens the door for the young talents to make their name out there.
The game field of the Mock Olympics is a good mix of experience and youth making it a competition that you don't want to miss. It is not likely the results will significantly shuffle the selection of the Olympic roster but it is a perfect ground to check where everyone is up to and do some fine-tuning afterwards with the Olympics just about a year away. So, stay home, save lives, sit back and relax!
How to Watch 2020 CNT Mock Olympics
1. Full streaming coverage available on CCTV App . (mainland China IP is needed)
2. Live on CCTV 5 & CCTV 5+ (check the following TV guide for more details)
The draws and results of each event are listed in separate articles. Do check the blog from time to time to get the most updated information!
You may find these interesting:
Catch Up: Highlights & Summary of the Day
Mixed Doubles Draws & Results
Men' Singles Draws & Results
Women's Singles Draws & Results
Women's Team Draws & Results
Men's Team Draws & Results
Seeding List
Schedule
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